alexgross.com

i think the torpedo con is a brilliant idea. of course i live in LA, so it's great for me, and my collector friends here. I havent gone to SDCC in over a decade, but i will go to this every year if they do it!

that was greg and matt trujillo from AGE OF COMICS in albuquerque. they had a small booth with nothing but incredible key books including perhaps the most incredible of all. what's more, they let me hold it. super cool guys and really amazing stuff. no filler.

as has been discussed here at length, GPA does not include results from comiclink, private sales and quite a few other sources. and as has also been discussed ad nauseum, bob storms sold glassmans 5.0 last year for 50k. so yes, this is quite a drop. it's a mistake to think that GPA is comprehensive. it's a nice resource, but hardly complete.

the 4.5 with no chipping or other issues sold for a paltry 26k. i really thought it would go higher. quite a drop from last summer.

the alleged shill account has got a 95 feedback rating. and the info we are given is only a 30 day summary, right? its not a long term picture of who's auctions he's bid on. he could be legit. or he could be a shill account that's been established for awhile now. ebay def doesnt care about shill accounts in either case, as they've proven time and time again. all they care about is getting their fees.

in that case, you're in great shape. prices of af15 are significantly lower than they were last summer when it peaked. your comment seems to suggest prices have continued upwards but it hasn't been the case since the latest explosion last year.

the market only seems saturated with silver because so many dealers are asking too much at cons. when silver age keys go to auction at CL, CC, heritage, and on ebay real auctions, they are selling for all time highs. at least most of them are, other than af15 right now. JIM#83 7.0 sold yesterday at hakes auction for about double gpa since 2 years ago. we have a very healthy market for silver age keys, when they are offered at auction. of course golden age keys circulate in much lower numbers, but that doesn't mean the demand for silver isn't there. if, as you say, they were priced out of most budgets, then wouldn't they be selling for less, instead of more than before??

last year the parking and line to get your badge were both intolerably long. i recommend taking a motorcycle so you can park without waiting 2 hours, and bringing a thick book to read while waiting on the riciulous line. wish they'd solve this stupidity.

speaking of books apparently selling on ebay and then re-appearing, heres an example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hulk-181-CGC-9-2-/182980834350?hash=item2a9a81f42e%3Ag%3AfNkAAOSwNWxZ-R0N&nma=true&si=Io3%2FqIvXMEftFIGxucV9GsnBIA0%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 seems to have sold. but then same book sells again two months later: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hulk-181-CGC-9-2-/183096857198?hash=item2aa16c526e%3Ag%3AfNkAAOSwNWxZ-R0N&nma=true&si=Io3%2FqIvXMEftFIGxucV9GsnBIA0%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

i've noticed a lot of books that say sold and then are back up for sale within a few days. i've also noticed that ebay makes it impossible to leave negative feedback for non payers auction winners. i sold something a couple months ago, the winner never paid, and i was unable to leave him negative feedback. really has ruined the validity of someone's feedback score at this point. sorry its a bit off topic, but relevant i think.

heres a painting i did of BP on an antique photo. its a before and after shot. piece is 6.5 x 4.5 inches.

why?? it seems not that hard to get a cva sticker. i have one on an ASM129 9.4, i mean come on, half those books could get a cva sticker.

i feel very similar to this. whats worse is seeing books that i've watched closely for a few years leave the price point at which i could have gotten them in the grade i want. as you say, it's exciting for the field and good news in relation to what i do own, but it's a bummer when trying to acquire everything else i've been wanting for so long.

nothing about that makes sense.

i think buying raw books on ebay is a giant headache that you probably want to avoid in the future. paying a bit more for something graded will save you this kind of trouble. come to one of the big conventions in the usa sometime when you can and then you can personally inspect all the raw stuff you like!

this auction ends tomorrow- a less nice looking copy is currently on comiclink for about $500 more than my listing is currently at! please take a look if you like early justice league. thanks! https://www.ebay.com/itm/202243140920

i said 'cameo'

it's the real deal! theres a plaque at the bottom that says some stuff, like that giant auction price it sold for awhile ago, but i didnt really read it all. doh.

i just had to share this- i happened to stop by heritage auctions beverly hills office today to drop something off, and saw this framed on the wall. as you all will recognize, it's the first cameo appearance of wolverine in hulk 180. the original piece! i was very excited as you can tell from my old face. perhaps one of the boardies here owns it and is letting heritage display it?

thanks- i think it presents well too, and has the nice page quality. most of these seem to be cream pages.

i just put up a very nice copy of JLA 1 on ebay with no reserve and a real auction. please have a look: https://www.ebay.com/itm/202243140920

this is awesome, and says alot about the choice. do bear in mind though that the punisher only just now got his tv show. hugh jackman's made wolverine a household name for almost 2 decades. so frank castle may have to play catch up for awhile, but he is likely to close the gap at least somewhat. i do still think wolverine is a better character, and thought so 40 years ago when i was a kid first reading these books. he's dark but lovable, whereas punisher is mostly just a mean badass.

it's pretty out of line with other recent sales. i think someone is hoping that copy will upgrade with a resubmit. it sure looks like a perfect copy, and could definitely come back as a 9.6, in which case it would have been a good price.

funny you should mention this exact thing- i am looking at a lovely AFA 85 SW 12 back as we speak and really cannot find any info about comparable sales. but then, i'm not really hip to the toy forums either.

just to be clear i am not saying that GPA is perfect by any means. simply observing that the collectible toy/ action figure market seems like it could use a similar database available to all. i have been documenting comiclink sales results of interest to me privately for awhile now due to GPA not including them, among others, in their database. but it's still a valuable tool, especially going back 12 years on key books.